Bloodstock 2017 Interview: Ward XVI

After their highly entertaining performance on the New Blood stage on the Saturday at Bloodstock, we caught up with all members of Ward XVI to chat about their performance and also their thoughts on the festival as a whole. Read on for the full transcription…

Ward XVI (c) Will Tudor

Is this your first time at Bloodstock?

It’s our first time playing it, but some of our guys have been here before. It’s a slightly different feeling to be playing than to be here as a punter as you get to see a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. It’s really cool though.

What do you reckon has led to Bloodstock selling out this year?

Us playing we think! We’ve experienced a kind of surge in fans once we won the Metal 2 the Masses and we played to an absolutely packed tent so that might have affected something. Probably the rest of the lineup though as well as it’s really varied.

Is there anything you’d change about the festival?

We don’t really think so as it’s such a nice environment and place to be. You’re surrounded by friendly people who are all so humble and willing to have a chat with you.

What do you think makes Bloodstock special?

Probably the Metal 2 the Masses. They really seem to care about new bands and nurture the community which helps bands get better and also means the scene gets even more awesome bands that’ll hopefully play in some capacity in the next few years.

What bands would you like to see play the festival?

Lionel Ritchie, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber and organise a mass egging. On a serious note, Arch Enemy, Nightwish and a couple of other bands in that vein.

What have you guys got coming up in the next few months?

We’ve a lot of shows around Halloween and a couple of other appearances here and there. We’re hopefully going to be playing a few more shows in the future as well so watch this space!